Macbook shuts down when unplugged, battery is good

Can you start up the Macbook using battery along? (e.g. with the magsafe unplugged)

How about trying another battery?

Trying calibrating the battery to get a true sense of it's capacity. If it checks out I would think about replacing the sleep sensor.

Redline13 said:

Trying calibrating the battery to get a true sense of it's capacity. If it checks out I would think about replacing the sleep sensor.

Click to expand...

How do you calibrate a battery if the machine shuts off immediately upon unplugging it?

anharper said:

Also just ran applejack, did not help. I reset the PMU, that did not help.

Full Charge Capacity: 4211
Remaining Capacity: 4148
Amperage: 0
Voltage: 12497
Cycle Count: 343

AC Charger
Connected: Yes
Charging: No

Could the AC charger be the problem? I just purchased in 2 weeks ago!

Click to expand...

When was the last time you calibrated the battery? With that amount of cycles it's probably toast.

The remaining capacity being reported isn't accurate unless the battery has been calibrated in the recent past.

anharper said:

Well, I can't calibrate the battery because the computer only stays on when plugged in. So I have no way to run the battery down.

Click to expand...

This is quite likely because it has almost no remaining capacity to hold a charge.

anharper said:

(Was letting my roomates use the computer, came home one day and it started doing this.)

Click to expand...

Any chance your macbook received a liquid spill?

Did you ever get this resolved? Our macbook pro is doing the exact same thing and I am trying to figure out what I need to replace or do.

Can you get to your closest apple store? They'll let you test another battery? Or a friend has a Macbook to let you test another battery?
Then at least you know if it is the battery - 340 cycles isn't that many, but maybe the liquid spillage fried it. What exactly do you mean by diskdrive? The CD/DVD drive? What are the symptons?

And re: being a girl - rubbish! It ain't rocket surgery.

It probably isn't the battery

I am working with a mobile lab of macbooks, and I switched the battery from one that I know is working well. Even with the good battery, it shuts down. I am still looking for a resolution. Will respond if I find one.

AlliOop said:

I am working with a mobile lab of macbooks, and I switched the battery from one that I know is working well. Even with the good battery, it shuts down. I am still looking for a resolution. Will respond if I find one.

Click to expand...

Try this -- it worked for me:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964?viewlocale=en_US

On my particular MacBook, I took out the battery, unplugged the machine and held the power button down for over 5 seconds. It worked. The machine has stayed on for over an hour now. It's called Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC).

Hope this helps someone else.

btw, I'm a girl, too - and over 50

I am having this same issue. The battery is good because I tried a brand new one. I also tried a different power adapter. I have reset SMU and PRAM. At this point I have to conclude that it is a motherboard issue. Its just very weird that the computer sees my battery, charges it but won't run off of it. If anyone else has any insight on things to try, i'd love to hear it.

A summary of the problem:

* Macbook sees the battery, will charge the battery until full but will shut off immediately if it is unplugged from the AC adapter.

* Macbook will not boot up unless plugged in.

* Battery shows up fine in the computer and fully charged. I can run another laptop off of the battery and it works fine.

* If I put a new battery into the broken MacBook I have the same issues.

* I tried swapping out magsafe adapters and same problems.

* Resetting SMU and PRAM does not help.

I hope you try my suggestion just above your entry, tharris. I just did it on another Macbook in that same mobile lab and it has so far stayed on. Good luck.

AlliOop said:

I hope you try my suggestion just above your entry, tharris. I just did it on another Macbook in that same mobile lab and it has so far stayed on. Good luck.

Click to expand...

Whoops, I made a typo above. I meant to say that I tried resetting the SMC. That didn't work for me.

I seem to be having the same problem

Shut down when unplugged, constant green charge light. System profiler shows not charging. Battery was dead so I bought a new one now light cycles from red to green and the profiler still shows not charging. I have run the reset protocol and no effect. Can the adaptor run the laptop and not charge the battery? What would cause red/green light cycling?
Thanks...

eleagle1 said:

Shut down when unplugged, constant green charge light. System profiler shows not charging. Battery was dead so I bought a new one now light cycles from red to green and the profiler still shows not charging. I have run the reset protocol and no effect. Can the adaptor run the laptop and not charge the battery? What would cause red/green light cycling?
Thanks...

Click to expand...

To Eleagle1:

Not clear on your first sentence. Does that mean the adapter has a constant green light when it's not even plugged into the computer?

Can you get a hold of another power adapter? (Maybe an Apple store would be willing to let you try.) It could be the adapter. It might also be a bad connection. Maybe cleaning with a Q-Tip or small eraser could help. I saw a teacher's power adapter go back and forth -- sometimes green, sometimes red. We cleaned it and seemed to keep it red until the battery was charged. I also calibrated her battery for her. I have a machine that does that, but you can Google it to find out how to do that on your computer.

Good luck.

The Green Light...

Thanks Alioop,

The green light is on only when connected to the laptop but will only cycle between red an green when used with the battery with a partial charge. When used with the dead battery it always shows a green light. I will check the contacts and try to clean then I'm going to go to Best Buy tonight to try their charger and see if it makes an difference...

jenny28583 said:

And re: being a girl - rubbish! It ain't rocket surgery.

Click to expand...

BAHAH. surgery on a rocket? women...
ain't that nice.

Battery not recognized....

hi!

I have the same problem as Tharris:
* Macbook sees the battery, will charge the battery until full but will shut off immediately if it is unplugged from the AC adapter (after 2 seconds to be more precise).

* Macbook will not boot up unless plugged in (only for half a second).

* Battery shows up fine in the computer and fully charged. On the screen it seems like it is charged and also on the actual battery.


* Resetting SMC does not help.


Does anyone have a clue what to do???

Thanks!

I followed this link which was posted by AlliOop...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964?viewlocale=en_US

...to reset the SMC for macbooks with a non-removable battery and this baby is now working again.

Seven months ago my macbook stopped charging and then the battery ran out of juice. I put it away and forgot about it. This week my brother said the Apple Store where he lived gave him a free battery and charge years ago so I should give it a shot. When I got there on my lunch break they said it was a three hour wait. I asked to at least plug it in there and see if it would charge. Their charger showed a green light and the macbook turned on. It would then turn off when unplugged. Would not charge at all. Then I plugged my old charger in and it did the same thing. That old charger of mine would not even light up seven months ago. When I got home it turned on again when plugged in so I started researching and found this thread. The above link fixed it and it is now charging, up to 48% as I type.

The battery health stats are as follows:

Current Max: 4762 mAh
Original Max: 5770 mAh

Cycles: 827
Age: 4.9

I will reply back if this ends up not working in the long run.

Thanks AlliOop!!!